Police arrest three Aldergrove gangsters, seize close to $400,000 worth of coke, meth and heroin

Kim Bolan, VANCOUVER SUN07.30.2014

Three men associated with the 856 gang have been arrested on drug-related charges after police seized close to $400,000 worth of illegal drugs, according to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Some of the drugs are pictured at a press conference held by the CFSEU in Surrey on July 30, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Three men associated with the 856 gang have been arrested on drug-related charges after police seized close to $400,000 worth of illegal drugs, according to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Some of the drugs are pictured at a press conference held by the CFSEU in Surrey on July 30, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Three men associated with the 856 gang have been arrested on drug-related charges after police seized close to $400,000 worth of illegal drugs, according to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Some of the drugs are pictured at a press conference held by the CFSEU in Surrey on July 30, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Three men associated with the 856 gang have been arrested on drug-related charges after police seized close to $400,000 worth of illegal drugs, according to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Some of the drugs are pictured at a press conference held by the CFSEU in Surrey on July 30, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

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They take their gang name from the prefix for Aldergrove phone numbers.

Now 856 gang members have expanded well beyond their Langley origins to traffic drugs in other parts of Canada, Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said Wednesday.

Houghton, of B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, announced the arrest of three high-ranking 856 members and the seizure of about $400,000 worth of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs from a Langley residence. The gang members, aged 23, 25, and 47, were questioned and released. Police won't reveal their names until charges are approved.

Houghton showed off the drug haul at a Surrey news conference. Several kilos of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs covered a large table. There were coffee grinders marked 'down' for heroin and CSB for 'cocaine super buff,' and a large hydraulic press used to process the products, he said.

"This seizure represents a significant quantity of drugs that will now not make it onto the streets and into the hands of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities," Houghton said. "By taking quick enforcement action against a group known for their violence across British Columbia and beyond, we have made a serious impact on their ability to further victimize people and make our communities safer."

He said the cocaine seized had been "buffed" or diluted to increase its value, by adding a chemical used by vets to deworm pigs.

He said CFSEU got a tip in early July about possible trafficking out of a large Langley residence containing several apartments. CFSEU officers arrested a suspect outside the house in the 4600-block of 236th Street on July 22, he said.

"A search of the man resulted in officers seizing significant quantities of both cocaine and methamphetamine," Houghton said. "While officers were on scene, two other suspects in the investigation arrived in a vehicle. One of the men was arrested and the other fled on foot, before being caught several hours later."

CFSEU and Langley RCMP executed a search warrant inside an apartment in the building the next day, finding " large quantities of drugs and drug-related items," he said.

Houghton said the 856 gang is a violent criminal group that started in the mid-2000s in Langley and now has members and associates living and operating in the Lower Mainland and as far away as Fort St. John, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Ontario.

"They have been in existence for close to a decade and have been featured in local and other media for their involvement in assaults, drugs, weapon-related, property-related, and other types of crimes," he said.

While the gang has only about 12 core members, there are dozens more associates within the low-to-mid-level criminal organization.

Senior gang members have the numbers 8-5-6 tattooed inside their lip. More junior members will have only an 8, or an 8-5 depending on their length of involvement.

"They have looked to other communities where there may be gaps in the drug market," Houghton said. "They're still recruiting, both locally and in the communities they've expanded to."

In December, several B.C. men were among rounded up in Yellowknife in a drug investigation targeting crack dealing by the 856 gang.

One of the B.C. natives, Matthew Jager, was sentenced earlier this month to 15 months in prison for possessing more than $22,000 in criminal proceeds from the crack ring. Territorial court judge Garth Malakoe noted that Jager, 30, hadn't been in the gang long as he only had the 8 tattooed in his lip.

"He has been involved in the drug culture since the age of 18 and is a junior member of a gang whose presence in Yellowknife is for the purpose of trafficking in crack cocaine," Malakoe said. "His role in the organization is such that proceeds from the trafficking for at least some period of time ended up in his possession."

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